Chapter One explained how this series started when taking a picture of my granddaughter and my camera started flashing local ads on my image screen. My camera was being tracked. What implications! If algorithms could spot where I was, could they also reverse the process and even know what photos I was taking?
Photo from an April 23, 2012 wired.com article “Mobile Carriers Lobby Against Cellphone Location Privacy Bill by David Kravets that says: Cellphone companies are objecting to proposed California legislation that would force them to publicly report the number of times they turn over cellphone location information to police and federal agents, arguing that it’s too burdensome, and would take time away from the important work of sharing customer data with cops “day and night.”
In a way we are seeing a race between governments and big business over who intrudes most in our lives. In some cases its even worse…. big business and the government are working together to intrude.
For example, excerpts from the April 2012 article “U.S. Escalates Google Case by Hiring Noted Outside Lawyer” by David Streitfeild says: Federal regulators escalated their antitrust investigation of Google on Thursday by hiring a prominent litigator, sending a strong signal that they are prepared to take the Internet giant to court.
The Federal Trade Commission is examining Google’s immensely powerful and lucrative search technology, which directs users to hundreds of millions of online and offline destinations every day. The case has the potential to be the biggest showdown between regulators and Silicon Valley since the government took on Microsoft 14 years ago.
Then as now, the core question is whether power was abused. The agency’s inquiry has focused on whether Google has manipulated its search results, making it less likely that competing companies or products appear at the top of a results page.
The Microsoft case in the late 1990s transformed the tech industry, reining in its most powerful company and allowing for the rise of new companies like Google. Now Google wields the same sort of power that Microsoft once did, and is under the same sort of scrutiny.
It has been involved in one privacy controversy after another over the last year. Indeed, the announcement of the hiring of Ms. Wilkinson — made by the Federal Trade Commission’s chairman, Jon Leibowitz, at a meeting in San Francisco with reporters — eclipsed Google’s formal response earlier Thursday to a fine by the Federal Communications Commission for obstructing a separate investigation.
Google’s Privacy Changes
An CNN article by Doug Gross that appeared in February 2012 before Google’s new privacy policy kicked in was entitled “How to prepare for Google’s privacy changes” said Under Google’s new privacy policy, a single profile of users will be created across various products.
To say that the change has stirred concern on the Web would be an understatement. Public officials and Web watchdogs in the United States and elsewhere have expressed fears that it will mean less privacy for users of the Web giant’s multitude of products, from search to Gmail to YouTube to Google Maps to smartphones powered by the Android operating system.
The major change is that, instead of profiling users separately on each of its sites and products, Google will now pull all of that information together into one single profile, similar to what’s found on Google’s dashboard page.
The result encapsulates perhaps the most basic conundrum of the modern Web. More information means better service (and potentially, more targeted advertisements). But that service (in this case more accurate search results, more interesting ads and new features that work across multiple sites) requires you to give up some of your privacy in return.
Here is the crunch… If one stops using Google, they lose a lot. If one wants to turn off the data collecting process, it is very complicated. Most of us like ignoring the fine print at the bottom of the page, and just go along with the status quo.
Then there is the Government.
Better still we should say “There Are The Governments”… Federal, State, County, City.
Even local governments can intrude now.
This excerpt from a March 31, 2012 New York Times article entitled Police Are Using Phone Tracking as a Routine Tool by Eric Lichtblau shows intrusion at local government levels and says: Law enforcement tracking of cellphones, once the province mainly of federal agents, has become a powerful and widely used surveillance tool for local police officials, with hundreds of departments, large and small, often using it aggressively with little or no court oversight, documents show.
The practice has become big business for cellphone companies, too, with a handful of carriers marketing a catalog of “surveillance fees” to police departments to determine a suspect’s location, trace phone calls and texts or provide other services. Some departments log dozens of traces a month for both emergencies and routine investigations.
With cellphones ubiquitous, the police call phone tracing a valuable weapon in emergencies like child abductions and suicide calls and investigations in drug cases and murders. One police training manual describes cellphones as “the virtual biographer of our daily activities,” providing a hunting ground for learning contacts and travels.
But civil liberties advocates say the wider use of cell tracking raises legal and constitutional questions, particularly when the police act without judicial orders.
The internal documents, which were provided to The New York Times, open a window into a cloak-and-dagger practice that police officials are wary about discussing publicly. While cell tracking by local police departments has received some limited public attention in the last few years, the A.C.L.U. documents show that the practice is in much wider use — with far looser safeguards — than officials have previously acknowledged.
In cities in Nevada, North Carolina and other states, police departments have gotten wireless carriers to track cellphone signals back to cell towers as part of nonemergency investigations to identify all the callers using a particular tower, records show.
Intrusion in our cell phones are not close to the intrusion that is taking place. We’ll see more of this in upcoming chapters of the Government Intrusion report, but in this chapter we no want to look at the silver lining.
Our reports have been looking at government intrusion since the 1970s and the problem is not the intrusion but a lack of knowing how to gain from it.
A wonderful story on NPR tells how a Chinese community dealt with government intrusion there.
An excerpt from the article says: In 1978, the farmers in a small Chinese village called Xiaogang gathered in a mud hut to sign a secret contract. They thought it might get them executed. Instead, it wound up transforming China’s economy in ways that are still reverberating today.
The contract was so risky — and such a big deal — because it was created at the height of communism in China. Everyone worked on the village’s collective farm; there was no personal property.
In theory, the government would take what the collective grew, and would also distribute food to each family. There was no incentive to work hard — to go out to the fields early, to put in extra effort, Yen Jingchang says.
“Work hard, don’t work hard — everyone gets the same,” he says. “So people don’t want to work.”
In Xiaogang there was never enough food, and the farmers often had to go to other villages to beg.
So, in the winter of 1978, after another terrible harvest, they came up with an idea: Rather than farm as a collective, each family would get to farm its own plot of land. If a family grew a lot of food, that family could keep some of the harvest.
This is an old idea, of course. But in communist China of 1978, it was so dangerous that the farmers had to gather in secret to discuss it.
The farmers tried to keep the contract secret — Yen Hongchang hid it inside a piece of bamboo in the roof of his house — but when they returned to the fields, everything was different.
At the end of the season, they had an enormous harvest: more, Yen Hongchang says, than in the previous five years combined.
That huge harvest gave them away. Local officials figured out that the farmers had divided up the land, and word of what had happened in Xiaogang made its way up the Communist Party chain of command.
Within a few years, farms all over China adopted the principles in that secret document. Since 1978, something like 500 million people have risen out of poverty in China.
Today, the Chinese government is clearly proud of what happened in Xiaogang. That contract is now in a museum.
We’ll try to identify and formulate ideas in this report that you can use to help overcome intrusion.
One idea for example is to earn as a writer and self publisher. The US government cannot interfere much due to Freedom of the Press provided by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Second, this is a mobile business that one can take anywhere. Third, as government intrusion makes life more complicated… writers can make life simpler. Fourth, they can fill the demand for more and more information. Fifth, government intrusion demolishes faith in the institutions. This creates a need for rallying points so people can still belong to areas of focus that they believe. This is a growing role filled by writers.
We have a course on how to be a writer and publisher and are wrapping up our recent year of updates. Here is an excerpt from one of the lessons.
Self Publishing 202… Tidbits on Kindle
Lesson 8: Focusing on Fun & Profit to Overcome “Writer’s Block” and “Writer’s Agitation”.
This lesson looks at how to make writing and publishing fun and fulfilling. When we enjoy the process, our chances of success rise. More importantly we can use fun as one of nature’s most powerful forces to overcome writer’s block.
One way I avoid writer’s block is by moving around. Here I am writing by the pool. Other times I’m in the lanai… sometimes on the couch… other times I write sitting under a tree. Once in awhile I even use my office.
We all have a story to tell. The most basic fundamental for success in writing and publishing is a good story that suits your specific reader. When we live and tell the stories we are meant to share, we get in the zone. Vice versa, when we are in the zone, the stories we tell are the ones we are meant to share.
When in the zone something wonderful happens. Words just flow… time stands still and stories write themselves.
Then there are the dreaded times when nothing flows… everything seems forced… you can’t sit still. Or even worse… writer’s block arrives and nothing comes out.
This s a very long lesson, compiled from many reports I have written about Super Thinking AKA “being in the zone”.
But most of this lesson is just scientific and case study back up. Let’s share how to overcome writer’s block.
I have been writing for so many years and have such a clear vision of what my readers desire that my “stuff” comes out quite easily. In fact often too many ideas come out and I picture being like my hound dog chasing our flock of chickens… running from one chicken to the next… in fits and starts… not sure which chicken’s tail feathers to grab.
I call this mental state “Writer’s Agitation.”
Either form of mental imbalance… too little… or too much can be equally disruptive to the writing process. In either case… the most active… least creative of our brain waves…. the in the box, logical, linear, restrictive beta waves are dominating.
When in the zone, all the brain waves are integrating and pulling together.
Merri and I have a three part routine that helps us get into and stay in a whole brain state for writing.
Routine and writing everyday is important… even if what you write does not seem correct. Do not fear having to throw away a day’s worth of writing. If you do the effort was not wasted but is part of getting you into the zone. This is no different than exercise… some days it is effortless…other days is does not come easy.
Routine overcomes this so make a routine to write every day… ideally around the same time.
First, before we write, Merri and I meditate or relax. Then we walk in the woods or somewhere in nature… or something mundane and repetitive that we love doings… planting flowers… crops…. harvesting.
This for us is not work, it’s fun and does not require logical thought. We use TM… a form of meditation to start the day… but any relaxation or meditation tactic you choose… that works for you… is great. There are many great ways to relax and or meditate.
Then we usually go for a 45 to 60 minute walk… all before breakfast.
Second, we listen to Baroque music to modulate the frequencies of our mind. We experience the power of sound… every day… listening to 60 cycle Baroque music. The power of music (frequencies in tune with the flow of nature) creates order out of chaotic days.
Here is a portion of the 60 cycle music list we use.
Bach, J.S.: Largo from Concerto in G Minor for Flute and Strings. Bach and Telemann Flute Concerts and Aria to The Goldberg Variations.
Corelli, A.: Sarabanda (largo) from Concerto #7 in D Minor.
Corelli: 12 Concerti Grossi op.5.
Handel, G.F.: Largo from Concerto #1 in F. Music from the Royal Fireworks.
Telemann, G.: Largo from Double Fantasia in G Major for Harpsichord.
6 Fantasias for Harpsichord Vivaldi, A.: Largo from Winter. The Four Seasons.
Remaining relaxed in stressful circumstances can be as simple as listening to relaxing Baroque music such as Handel’s Water Music. A few other compositions at this cycle include Corelli’s Concerti Grossi, Op. 6, Violin and Orchestra in No. 2, 8, 5, 9. or J.S. Bach’s Fantasy in C Minor and Trio in D minor or Vivaldi’s Five Concertos for Flute and Chamber Orchestra and of course Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Third, we take the food supplement, Theanine, (chemical name: r-glutamylethylamide) an amino acid that helps the mind slip into the zone as well.
Theanine is one of the chemicals found in green tea. Theanine is used to reduce stress and anxiety without the tranquilizing effects found in many other calming agents. Scientific evidence shows that Theanine stimulates the brain’s production of alpha waves, making the user feel relaxed but alert and not drowsy. It also helps the body produce other calming amino acids, such as dopamine, GABA, and tryptophan. As might be expected from a calming supplement, Theanine may be able to lower elevated blood pressure as well.
We use the “Source Naturals” brand called Theanine Serene.
This is pretty much a daily routine as we write almost every day.
Idea Freshening Secret
This routine works pretty well for us.
However our problem is that we often have a lot to write… often on demand. I suggest that most writers write each day for at least 30 minutes, but sometimes our business requires that I write for eight hours… for a week or more at a time!
When I feel stale… when the writing becomes work rather than fun then have another tactic that helps me return to the higher forms of intelligence that we cannot access in normal lingual form.
I practice this technique in writing and business and we teach it in our Frequency Modulation Workshop during our Writer’s Camps.
Here are the three steps in this mind freshening technique:
Step #1: Write by hand for five or ten minutes everything you can about the idea your are writing on. This connects the the mind/body functions and helps integrate the brain waves.
Step #2: Take a ten minute meditation or sit quietly for 10 minutes listening to Baroque largo music. Relax and let your mind wander… use innocence… no expectation.
Step #3: At the end of ten minutes write down whatever is on your mind at that time. Write as much about it as you can even if it does not seem to fit into what you have been writing… just let it flow.
In the thoughts… in the visions that you have at the end of the ten minute meditation or in the quiet listening, there will be an out of the box idea to dwell on… often in graphic form… a picture rather than words. Dwell easily on this in context of your publication.
This tactic was taught to us by a Buddhist Monk and what it does is let the fresh parts of the brain take over the creative process.
I learned about brain fatigue many years ago when I as being treated for visual problems caused from a blow to my head (I walked into the swing of a baseball bat). If there is swelling on the optic nerves, the message that gets to the brain can be scrambled and this requires mental capacity to unscramble the message coming through. The brain learn how to function in a different, less efficient way. One way to deal with this is to shut down peripheral vision. Imbalances can also eliminate depth perception.
Later when the swelling goes down, the brain has to go through a relearning process to regain efficiency. In my case my depth perception was gone and the physician was having a hard time to retrain the brain to see varied dimensions.
One routine he used on my was to have me listen to a tape for 20 minutes and keep track of how many words I would hear. The tape started with Table… later it shifted to Mable… then Fable and then Cable… on and on all able words.
I proudly kept count and when I provided my tally the doctor smiled and said “do you know how many words you really heard”? “One.” “Table.”
What happened is that the part of the brain that was stimulated when it heard the frequency that it interprets as “Table” was stimulated too many times, it became fatigued so it passed on the job to a nearby area of the brain that was stimulated when when it heard the frequency that it interprets as “Mable”. When that part of the brain was fatigued it passed it on again and so forth. I really thought I heard many Able words because my brain was fatigued.
A synonym for fatigue of the brain is boredom so if your mind becomes bored with what you are writing… you stop having fun.
This three step idea freshening technique taps you into larger… more interesting fields of intelligence so your brain and mind body connection can continue to create.
We are all connected…we are all a part of infinite intelligence… that is overwhelming in relation to our ability to think… especially in terms as restrictive as language. The universe terra, terra infinite, bytes of data. Our logic in comparison as a processor… not even 64K. So at the least we cannot expect to tap into the universe in English. Symbols perhaps. These symbols that come in a dreamlike state will lead us where we as writers will have fun.
That’s it… how to overcome “Writer’s Block” or “Writer’s Agitation”.
If you jog, you legs muscles with grow… your cardiovascular system with expand. You do not have to know why.
End of Excerpt
Intrusion is here from both big business and government. We choose to accept it because the tools we use that allow this intrusion work so well. This intrusion is growing at local as well as national and global levels. Intrusion brings change. Change can bring problems. Problems can however create opportunity.
We look forward to finding and sharing that opportunity with you.
Gary
Writers & Publishers Course
Profits can be kindled with this question… which would you rather have… 12% of $10 or 70% of $3?
The math to this question brings an obvious answer and creates a business opportunity.
Merri and I have loved our Kindles since they day they became available. Now you’ll see why we love them even more and how that passion can create profit and opportunity for you!
Plus you don’t even have to own a Kindle to take advantage of these profits and opportunities!
Growing numbers of “indies” (short for independent) writers are using Kindle to sell their publications.
There is a great story about a 26 year old who is cutting out BIG publishers by publishing direct to the Kindle.
She is writing vampire stories and is one of the top selling “indie” writers on the Kindle store.
This means she does not have a publishing deal. This allows her to keep 70% of her book sales. According to one article I read she is selling up to 100,000 electronic books a month.
That is impressive when you consider that it only takes a few tens of thousands of book sales at launch to get on the New York Times bestselling list.
The heck with lists! How about just writing and publishing? Her formula is to lower her sales price to between $.99 to $3.00. This compares to the typically $9.99 to $12.99 for other books on Kindle.
The lower price increases volume…. plus this cuts out a publisher, distributor and book store who normally absorb up to 88% of the income created by a book.
There are no printing costs, no shelf space, no inventory, no postal delivery. Most of the publishing expenses are eliminated.
The writer keeps 70%.
Amazon keeps 30%.
A typical writer earning 12% of the book sales makes about $1.20 per $9.99 book sale. A Kindle writer makes $2.10 on a $3 sale.
Working as a group home worker she wrote novels in her spare time.
In 2010, she began self-publishing them as e-books. Within a year she sold over a a million copies and earned two million dollars.
This captured the attention of St. Martin’s Press and she received a conventional publishing contract for four books, at a price of two million dollars.
Previously one of the best selling Kindle writers was J.A. Konrath, but it was assumed he was popular because he previously had a publishing deal and so already had notoriety. That was not the case with this girl (her name is Amanda Hocking), who published stories on her blog before turning to Kindle. In fact, out of the top 25 best-selling indie Kindle writers, only 6 were previously affiliated with a publishing house.
Imagine this… 26 year Amanda Hocking… a 100,000 sales at $2 average brings in $200,000 a month and her earnings are $140,000 a month.
That is a great income.
Hocking did all this from the small town of Austin, Minnesota. 2010 population 24,017 people.
Not every writer will do that well. Most of us don’t need to!
This is a new exciting era for writers. This is exciting news for those of us living in small towns. This is not so good for the big city publishers and big bookstores who do not adapt.
However like small bookstores, small publishers have great opportunity as well.
Smart… publishers who use this technology gain the following benefits.
* Printing, shipping and disposal (of unsold books) costs eliminated.
* Shelf space unlimited and almost free with no capital costs.
* There is increased sales volume. Kindle owners buy more books than print readers and will spend weekly to get new chapters rather than entire books.
There are three keys to success in this type of writing and publishing. We have repeatedly stressed them at our websites and in our business courses. Focus…. focus…. focus.
Buyers of books fall into niches.
Those who succeed are those who focus on a niche and create trust with those readers.
Take Merri’s and my publishing business as an example. Our readers know that the site content is about leading edge ideas related to fighting inflation, global investing, having micro businesses and being free to live anywhere.
These websites create a community of like minded souls around this niche.
Once a writer has become branded and has a list of readers, it is easy to expand by adding authors and related topics, and editing the books of other authors, knowing that they can help them sell their books.
Some amazing websites and businesses will be built and Kindle will be the search engine… the jumping off point is finding the original readers who will become the core of your list!
I plan to also take advantage of Kindle publishing and have a great head start (our list) want to share what I learn in the process with you.
Technology especially favors small publishers today. Portable computers, the internet, wireless access, on demand printing smart phones and electronic readers all create enormous new potential for small publishers.
Let me share an example created by the nuclear events created by the Tsunami in Japan. Merri and I had unfortunately been near Chernobyl when it melted down. We suffered from radiation exposure and have been in the past two decades learning how to cure ourselves. We know numerous ways to help readers protect against excessive radiation.
The day of the nuclear event I spent the entire day writing and by the second day of Japan’s disaster had already published the report “7 Steps to Protect Against Radiation Poisoning“. My publication was the first to help in the this way and was available on Kindle just one day after the nuclear disaster. No big publisher could close to even thinking up a publication… much less publishing a valid report that fast.
This is why I am making one last special offer for our self publishing course. When I announced this opportunity a large publisher wanted to put this course online. That deal was concluded and they felt the existing price was too low so ask me to raise the course fee from $299 to $499.
I have not yet made that increase but shortly plan for the price to rise to $499.
You can save $597 and $200 extra… with this special offer.
If you take advantage of this offer there is one more benefit… you’ll also receive Self Publishing 202… How to Publish on Kindle.
As shown above I have already started learning the ropes on how to publish via Amazon.com and Kindle. I’ll have been adding additions to our self publishing course… Self “Publishing 202… Tidbits on Kindle.”
Those who take advantage of the special offer below will receive this new addition at no extra charge.
See below a special offer that save $597 normally… $200 extra now through the end of this week and get the Kindle course all for $299.
Gary
Embrace the Predictions of Disaster Zone.
Do less… Gain more as global trouble unfolds.
Online Writers and Publishers Course “Self Fulfilled – How to be a Self Publisher”
Self Fulfilled Special $299
The last few years have seen the evaporation of many dreams. The global recession… rising gas prices… massive home foreclosures… a weakened, falling US dollar and rising unemployment wiped out many hopes, ambitions and plans.
Who knows what could come next. A double dip recessions, stagflation… massive job layoffs… more federal, state, county and city debt and government burdens on our lives. Demolished Medicare and health benefits. Rampant inflation.
Despite these disasters and the risk of more, one exclusive group of small businesses have prospered. They will continue to do so, regardless of the unexpected, abroad or at home.
In fact these businesses will do even better… gain higher respect and earn more profit as they help ease disasters… because these business are small publishers who can help their readers deal with global and local problems as they unfold.
Small self publishers are in a win – win situation for many reasons.
The massive expansion of information is overwhelming the world. There is so much new data coming in that the public cannot keep pace. This forces us all to be more discriminating… which is the worst thing that can happen to big publishers who rely on broadband where its best to send one message to huge groups.
The huge inflow of new knowledge favors broadband which works best sending many different messages to much smaller groups.
Self publishers have also gained an advantage as most of the big booksellers are going broke or in a slump. Barnes & Noble has had enormous challenges. 2010 Books-A-Million comparable store sales dropped nearly 5 percent and net income fell 35 percent. Borders has filed for bankruptcy and shut down along with 798 B. Dalton mall outlet bookstores and over 180 of the Waldenbook units. They are gone. This vacuum creates a special opportunity for small self publishers.
This is why you should see three case studies below to help you be free, secure and fulfilled as a Self Publisher.
After these stories see how to get a second course worth $299 plus three bonuses when you enroll in our course “Self -Fulfilled – How to be a Self Publisher” on how to develop your own specific publishing business that can bring you everlasting wealth.
Save $597 total. Self Fulfilled Special $299
Here are the three stories that show how the rise of the small self publisher began. This knowledge can bring you secure income for the rest of your life. More importantly these stories can help you be happy and fulfilled and safe in this ever changing world. With these case studies you help make the world a better place… in a small way perhaps… but better as you gain everlasting wealth.
Lets share how to create a fortune in a rewarding career.
The first of these three stories contains the seeds of prosperity, richness, freedom and satisfaction for you.
The story begins with an excerpt from the December 16, 2010 Economist Article entitled “Rise of the image men” begins: (bolds are mine) that says: As they prepared to face their second big strike in four years, America’s coal-mining bosses knew they had to do something about the newspapers. It was 1906—a time of rising resentment against robber-baron capitalism and the heyday of muckraking “yellow journalism”. During the previous strike the trade unions had fostered good relations with newspapermen and won themselves a sympathetic press. To help put their side of the story, the mining bosses turned to a former journalist, Ivy Lee. Lee was to pioneer new methods—and, in the process, create a new industry.
Lee observed that the rise of national newspaper chains and syndicated journalism in America since the 1880s, combined with the extension of the franchise, had profoundly changed society. Now, for the first time, there was something that could accurately be called “public opinion”, a shared consciousness and conversation across the country—and it was to be feared. Lee noted how the emerging mass media were acting as the conduit for the anti-capitalist message of Progressivism, the liberalising reform movement that peaked in America in the early 20th century. He realized not only that it was essential for businesses to counter this message, but that the same conduit could be used to spread pro-business sentiment.
His idea, blindingly obvious now but a novelty then, was to send newsdesks a stream of statements putting the mining bosses’ case and rebutting allegations against them.
The seeds in this story, are rich with potential for your prosperity and are so simple. Lee observed that the rise of national newspaper chains and syndicated journalism in America since the 1880s, combined with the extension of the franchise, had profoundly changed society. Now, for the first time, there was something that could accurately be called “public opinion”, a shared consciousness and conversation across the country—and it was to be feared. This is obvious now but was a novelty then.
The real seed is that a coincidence of many technologies changed the world (in the form of the newspaper)… at the turn of the 20th century. One technology was the ability to make newsprint… the paper of newspapers. Paper was two thousand years old, but cheap newsprint, paper from wood pulp, did not come along until 1838 when Charles Fenerty of Halifax made the first newsprint while helping a local paper mill maintain an adequate supply of rags to make paper. He succeeded in making paper from the wood pulp itself.
Plus technologies in transportation and communication then allowed… everyone, reporters to paperboys, to create public opinion through the power of the word.
This leads us to the second story that tells of another global transformation from broadcast to broad band… from large publishing to Self Publishing and how you can have so many good things you desire… freedom… material wealth…adventure… security… fulfillment… friendships…. status and fun as a Self Publisher.
Perhaps what Merri and I are most proud of this second story because it tells the tale of a student who used our publishing course “Self Fulfilled How to be a Self Publisher” to build a career.
David Cross was a meditation teacher in Edinburgh Scotland who taught our son Jake the art of meditating when Jake was at university there. We meet David there and after talking he ordered our “Self Fulfilled – How to be a Self Publisher” course then in print… (now its online) and published a report. One reader of the report had a new internet server business and was so impressed that he hired David to work for him in Sweden. In the process of rising to become the managing director of that firm… David started our website (and is still our webmaster as well as business partner now). During one business meeting in London, David met our daughter Cinda. ‘Love at First Sight.”
David Cross and Cinda Scott-Cross DVM.
David also met executives of International Living and went on to become Chief internet consultant for Agora Inc. one of the largest online marketing companies in the world.
David has since built an unparalleled, hands-on marketing experience that spans 25 years in 22 countries for companies and charities large and small. He’s guided many businesses and individuals to success in their business and helped them achieve their marketing goals, both online and offline.
As Senior Internet Consultant to Agora Inc. in Baltimore, MD, David worked closely with Agora’s publishers and marketers and over an 8-year period helped to propel Agora’s online revenues to over $300 Million in 2009.
Myles Norin, the CEO of Agoras wrote: ”I have found David’s knowledge and experience unmatched in the industry. Without David’s expertise and guidance for the past 7 years, we would not be nearly as successful as we are.”
David hails from England and now lives on a small farm close to Mount Hood in Oregon with our daughter, a veterinarian, their five children and a menagerie of animals. When not marketing or brainstorming you’ll find David following a dream of self-sufficiency for food, power and water within 10 years, tending the land and caring for the farm and animals. Not surprisingly, David is an engaging and knowledgeable speaker with many amusing anecdotes from his work and travels over the years.
Such is the power that Self Publishing brings.
The third story is of my wife Merri and me.
Merri became involved in self publishing over 40 years ago… first helping a veterinarian publish a book on a very specific market… animal acupuncture. Then she showed a needle point artist how to sell more books to an even more specific audience… “needle point enthusiasts” about her needle point work to an audience larger than the population of the city she lived in. This led Merri to eventually become Executive Editor of an award winning magazine in Florida.
My story allowed me to work and live from Hong Kong to London to Europe to Eastern Europe, then the Caribbean and then Ecuador… making millions in the process of following my adventures and having fun… while helping a large readership adapt to a rapidly changing world.
Self Publishing has created exactly the lifestyle I desire with a farm in North Carolina, orange groves and home in Florida… hotel and condos in Ecuador working at what I love and enjoy.
Hard at work in Florida during the winter.
Working during the summer on our North Carolina farm.
A shot from my work station in Ecuador overlooking the Pacific.
Merri’s and my story also reflects how Self Publishing can enhance relationship. Merri and I have not spent a night apart since we began publishing together over 30 years go.
Merri and I heading up to a seminar hall at our Blue Ridge farm to speak with a group about Self Publishing.
Self Publishing has entered a new era as a new business art form and we want to share with you how to start your own self publishing business now.
Learn how to develop your publishing skills to turn your passion into profit! If you can’t write… publish instead!
Whatever your passion, you can immerse yourself in it AND even create a six-figure income. This could be your direct ticket to the kind of fulfillment you’ve always wanted in life. Whether you want to travel the world or live as a recluse, work 12 hours a day or not work at all, learn more about golf or feeding the hungry… it can be yours if you’re willing to learn.
Self Fulfilled: How to be a Self Publisher will teach you our proprietary step-by-step plan for getting your publishing business going… full or part-time… right away.
How you can start with a very small amount of money and eventually work only four hours a day (if you are operating full-time).
11 steps to creating the perfect product, including how to review ideas, test focus, and aim at markets.
How to gain 1,000% returns on some of your publications.
How to choose a format—book, newsletter, list, audio or video—that suits you and your audience.
Frequently committed marketing mistakes and how to avoid them (plus, you’ll get samples of winning marketing pieces to study).
Personally, I like to write. And through publishing and writing, I have become wealthy beyond my dreams!
My wife, Merri, and I became multi-millionaires within 10 years of starting our self-publishing business. Today, we have more cars than we can drive, five homes and numerous cabins in North Carolina and Ecuador. We have a beautiful lake front home on 16 acres (with an orange grove to boot). We have no mortgages, not a penny of debt, and plenty of money in the bank.
But more important than the money, I enjoy the bliss of each and every day, doing what I love and hoping I can do it forever.
And why wouldn’t I? I often start my work days at 5:00 a.m. and wrap up by 9:00 a.m. That leaves the rest of the day to do mostly as I feel. If the kids are home, we’ll play. Other days, I just putter. Some days I take out a canvas and paint or concentrate on playing my flute. Other days, I just sit in the sun and read.
But even though my day’s work is often finished by the time many people are just getting started, I will still be thousands of dollars richer by the end of the day!
Of course I don’t always work just four hours a day. Some days I stay at the keyboard seven, eight, even 12 hours. But the thing is I love every minute of it, because I’m involved in projects that excite me!
Not only am I learning, writing, and publishing about things that I love, but I’m also making myself and the world a better place in the process. This life is as perfect as any I could ask for.
It Doesn’t Take Long to Start Making Serious Money
When I started my publishing business, I made a 380% return on my initial investment within a month. And it just got better from there.
Of course, no business is without its pitfalls. In fact, I’ve identified 17 pitfalls of publishing and they are covered in the course. It took me more than a decade of struggle to learn how to avoid them all, but I did it.
You see, back in 1974, I had what I thought was a good business, but to be honest, I could never get ahead. I was almost penniless, in debt and living from hand to mouth. Then I discovered the secrets to avoiding the pitfalls. Since then, our publishing business has brought in millions.
Now, Merri and I have packed over 40 years of global publishing and business experience into our course on how to have Self Publishing business.
Before I tell you how this program can help you create your ideal lifestyle, I want to make an important point. I’m not promising that this program will make you rich overnight or that you’ll wake up tomorrow with a more satisfying life. If you’re looking for a way to get rich while you sleep, you should stop reading right now.
But if you’re willing to invest a reasonable amount of time and effort into learning and applying this simple system, it will put you squarely on the road to becoming a wealthy and fulfilled publishing entrepreneur.
Through this in-depth program, I will share, teach, and guide you on everything you need to find a fulfilling path and start making good money right away.
I’ve structured the program to make it as easy as possible for you to implement. You’ll know precisely what to do from the very first day till the day you have a thriving publishing business.
You can start part-time with any dream, passion, and budget. Once you’ve created a product, you’ll enjoy the “multiple effect” of producing profits over and over again.
So the question is… What do you love to do?
What’s Your Passion: Helping People Who Are in Pain?
Thirty years ago, a client of Merri’s developed a series of pamphlets explaining various chiropractic disorders in very simple terms. For example: “What Is Whip Lash?”
The pamphlets contained solid information, but were simple 5″ x 7″ brochures with drawings and explanations. He sold them with a rack to chiropractors, who put them in their offices for patients to read. These little self-published items have sold year in and year out for three decades.
There are thousands of ideas of this sort that can lead to big business. It’s just a matter of figuring out and then acting on your passion.
Although I can work when I please and go where I wish, for me the most important reason for being a publisher is the satisfaction it brings. I love the projects I take on, so work doesn’t feel like, well… work.
I’m passionate about investing, so I publish about that. But what matters is what do you love?
If you love golf, then you can publish things about golf. Love travel, fishing, dogs, dolls, or art? Publish about those things.
Are you concerned about crime, war, poverty or environmental issues? You can publish information products that help wipe them out.
Would you like to help the world be a more spiritual place? Publish a newsletter, write a book (or hire someone to write it for you), record a tape… do something that enlightens people.
Whatever your passion, you can immerse yourself in it and make a fortune by publishing CDs, lists, books, or any format you choose.
How to Build a Million-Dollar Business in Seven Years
The first time I exposed others to the secrets in Self Publishing: Your Complete Business Plan for Creating a Life Without Borders, it was in a weekend seminar. People from all walks of life attended—chiropractors, businessmen, investors, doctors, realtors, inventors, airline pilots, engineers, and housewives.
Merri and I were so overwhelmed by the response to the seminar, we decided to make it available to a larger audience.
Unlike programs that are put together by “experts” who have never actually done what their program promotes, this program is not theoretical. It describes step-by-step how Merri and I built a million-dollar international business in just seven years.
Another thing that is unique about us is that Merri and I decided to do the whole business by ourselves. Though we have tens of thousands of buyers and have made millions, we still work at home and do not employ a single person. You’ll be able to do the same—if you wish—because I’ve included everything we did—explained in vivid detail—in the program.
The program is also full of practical publishing ideas and case studies…
For example, you’ll learn about a pilot who published a book on the best airport cafés (suddenly all his flying became tax-deductible!)… how one couple who loved an island wrote a guide on the place and made enough money to buy a home on the beach there… and how another couple made millions with a simple legal idea.
What’s Your Passion: Travel and Tourism?
A client of ours amassed a fortune by starting travel guides for cities. He started with Sarasota, Florida, publishing a simple booklet with attractions, restaurants, etc. and plenty of advertising. Then he moved onto Naples, and on and on,until the whole state of Florida was done.
He didn’t have to put much work into the booklets as he could carry over plenty of generic information from booklet to booklet. But there were plenty of advertisers and plenty of people who wanted to obtain these booklets.
Finally, he franchised the whole operation.
* How to set up a computerized fulfillment center even if you’re computer illiterate.
* How to turn advertising dollars into a fortune by creating winning ads, direct mail pieces, and getting thousands of dollars in free publicity.
* Which printers to avoid and how to cut your printing bill in half by asking for quotes differently.
* How to use your computer and the internet to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in printing and postage.
* How to control inventory, check ad results, and keep overhead down.
* 11 financial hazards to avoid and tricks to stay profitable without a daily accountant.
* My secret pricing strategies that will help you sell more units of your product.
* Plus much, much more that I don’t have space for here!
Why This Unique System Is Guaranteed to Put You on the Road to Publishing Success
In Self Fulfilled – How to be a Self Publisher Merri and I give away every publishing secret we know and expect those who use this powerful program to reap a fortune and change their whole life for the better.
Why we’ll add the Self Published Kindle addition free.
If you’re wondering what a program like this can do for you, just take a look at how much my seminar on publishing helped the participants. Here’s what some of the folks had to say about what they learned:
“The course fulfilled all my expectations providing all the details necessary to start a publishing business from creating the idea, through marketing including the systems necessary to implement our ideas.” — B. C., Chiropractor California
“Gary, your system is jam packed with vital information. My head is spinning. Thank goodness this is all backed up by your manual. This is a true and cherished gift. Your tips are a blessing! Thank you once again. The value far exceeds the price.” — B. K., Investor Pennsylvania
“The course was excellent covering all the facets of publishing. The philosophy of keeping small with no employees alone made the course invaluable. Gary and Merri, you were excellent!” — S. K., Businessman
Georgia
“Your program gave me insight on what to do with widening my client base.”
– M.E., Real Estate Broker Florida
“We found the course interesting and informative. We were inspired to start work on a booklet. When we came down, we had no idea what to publish.”
– Employed couple from New York
“Your publishing course is outstanding! Just two hours of study on Sunday alone were worth more than the course price.”
– A publisher from California
“The course helped me in three ways. #1: To realize that it is not only OK but preferable to start small. #2: A small point but with big implications was Merri’s description of how she is going to make Gary an expert in the sport’s field. #3: I feel I have a workable program to have a newsletter — my own passion!” – T. B., Professional Washington
These are just a few of the many comments I’ve received from people I’ve personally trained at my seminars to turn their passions into profits through publishing.
What’s Your Passion: Expand Your Current Business?
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel with your publishing business. You can use publishing to expand your current business. That’s what I did — and it’s what the owners of a consulting firm in California did, too.
These business owners decided to write and publish books to establish credibility and attract new customers — and it worked like a charm.
Over the past 10 years, they have written two books, both aimed at establishing their company as the go-to source for customer service training. They credit the books with bringing in more than $1 million in new business!
Writing and books have turned into such a bonanza that they’ve recently added a new service to their business — coaching small business owners on the ins and outs of book publishing.
This brand-new home study version of the program is designed only for people who are serious about making a six- or seven-figure income, controlling their own destiny, or otherwise improving the quality of their life by publishing information products. It is not for idle curiosity.
Here’s How to Start Living a More Fulfilled Life As a Self-Publisher
With this hot-off-the-presses home study version of my self-publishing program, you get all the same information as people who attended that first seminar—but at a fraction of the cost.
They paid $2,000 to gain access to this information, but you can get the entire Self Fulfilled – How to be a Self Publisher for only $499!
That’s a real bargain considering that you will save thousands on printing and advertising alone. And you couldn’t duplicate the computer and internet knowledge you’ll gain for $20,000. For starters, you’ll learn:
* How to use the internet to publish
* How to define and target your internet market, and start getting visits
* How to develop your website
* The top 10 internet tips to use and the top 10 traps to avoid
I can tell you this: at $499, this program may very well be the best bargain and best investment you’ll ever make.
To this end, I have created a special offer… our course on how to be a self publisher, our course on how to use the internet and a website in your business and three bonuses for you.
Bonus #1: Get the 50 minute Video Workshop worth $99 “How to Start Your Own Internet Business” presented by our webmaster David Cross,
This video is brand new and the first reader to read it wrote: Muchas Gracias Gary, Just watched David’s video. It Was SUPER! Thanks Again. Bill
Bonus #2: Get FREE, the $299 online course “The Tangled Webs We Weave – How to Have an Internet Business”. To read more about this course click here.
Bonus #3: Our Super Thinking Workshop in an MP3 file so you can listen on your computer, burn a disk or listen on you Ipod or in your car. This workshop was conducted and recorded last February 2011 and is a $199 value.
Bonus #4: A special report only available to those who enroll in “Self Fulfilled” entitled “Three Secrets for Creating Publishing Ideas”.
Save $597 total.Self Fulfilled Special $299 + PLUS $200 more until this Sunday April 24, 2011.
GUARANTEED. We’ll Accept All the Risk!
We completely guarantee the program.
Order Self Publishing: Your Complete Business Plan for becoming a self publisher and take a full 30 days to put it through its paces. That way you can follow my simple process and start seeing the results for yourself.
If you’re not completely convinced that this information is so powerful it will make you a six- or seven-figure self-publisher—all you have to do is let us know and you’ll receive a complete refund of every penny of your investment.
Fair enough?
Despite predictions of disaster, the Great American Dream Still Exists!
Our publishing business has brought us more wealth, satisfaction, fun and friendship than we ever imagined possible. And now we want to share our knowledge and secrets with anyone who has a desire to experience this way of life.
Whether you are an engineer, doctor, housewife, business owner, or retiree… self-publishing offers a way to make a six- or seven-figure income by turning your passion into profit.
Don’t miss this special opportunity. Order Self Fulfilled How to be a Self Publisher today if you want to cash in on the satisfying, profitable and exciting lifestyle that publishing can bring despite and in fact because of trouble in the world.
Sincerely,
Gary Scott
Specific-Publisher and Author
Order Today!
Save $597 total. Self Fulfilled Special $299 Plus save $200 more until the price is increased to $499.
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